Articles By This Author
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Marilyn Michelson — Freelance Writer
Marilyn Michelson, president of Jackson, Calif.-based Business Communication Services and publisher of the BCS Reports, is an expert in TIA/EIA performance standards.
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CAT FAQs
November 2008
The Category 6A copper cable specification (TIA 568-B.2-10) has been issued. Have you installed the new standard yet? Do you know why a customer would want it? I asked some manufacturers what concerns they were hearing from customers and why their product might fit the bill.
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Grounding & Bonding in the Data Center
September 2008
Performance in the data center is affected by equipment not being grounded or bonded; therefore, the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) is working to expand its one and only existing grounding and bonding performance standard, ANSI-J-STD-607-A. TIA decided in late 2007 to update this data communications grounding and bonding standard for low-voltage installations, with a “B” edition planned for September 2009. There are some new requirements that will be affecting electrical contractors.
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Breaking Down VoIP and UTP
July 2008
Contractors working in telecommunications or data communications may find applications of voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) confusing. In addition, the proper use of unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cabling may pose some challenges. Furthermore, how the two items relate to one another also can create issues that electrical contractors must resolve.
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Heavy-Duty Networking
July 2008
Upgrading a copper (copper) unshielded twisted pair (UTP) network to be able to transmit 10 gigabits per second (Gbps) per IEEE’s Ethernet standard 802.3an requires some deliberation. You need to know how the network functions, what it is composed of, why you would upgrade it and if an upgrade to 10 Gbps is necessary for the type of business it is being used/planned for. Depending on a company’s five- or 10-year plan, it may be overkill.
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Light the Way
March 2008
Today, there is a push to save energy and, therefore, money. One of the largest users of energy in a commercial building is its lighting system, which Darlene Bremer discusses in this month’s Energy Management column on page 86. If you approach a company’s lighting usage on a whole-building basis, you will see that new technologies available lead to energy savings and improved control. However, the last phase of a building’s lighting installation is maintenance.
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The Pulse of the Industry
March 2008
The residential market has been up and down. Now that business has slowed, it may be time to start positioning yourself to participate in that market’s future growth. If you choose to do so, there are a few organizations and standards you should monitor.
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Keep Your Customer Energy Efficient
July 2007
Energy-Efficient Maintenance (EEM) is maintenance of energy-using equipment in a commercial or industrial environment. Since energy easily holds the largest potential for significant savings, maintaining energy-using equipment is extremely important. Sometimes, budget cutting results in deferred maintenance that can lead to additional energy use and reduced equipment life. That deferred choice, due to a short-term budget need, can result in an increase in labor and equipment costs. If things go wrong, more employees are needed to make up for down equipment, and more money has to be allocated for new replacements.
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Broadband Reaching: The Residential Standard
June 2007
Broadband services have come a long way. The services expanded from simply high-speed Internet access to more entertainment options and voice features over Internet protocol. Homeowners may want to subscribe to some of these services. The problem is their infrastructure may need upgrading, which creates a huge opportunity for the electrical contractor. However, the contractor will need know how. Luckily, the first and only performance standard is being developed—Addendum 1 to the Telecommunications Industry Association’s TIA 570-B Residential Cabling Standard for “Coax Cabling Requirements,” which will guide the EC into being the perfect person for the job.
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Datacom Maintenance Work for New and Existing Installations
June 2007
Datacom maintenance work today is different from a few years ago. Since there are no moving parts and so many installations are configured at initial startup and not modified for some time, there isn’t anything to maintain. Of course, when an organization evolves, then moves, adds or changes (MACs) come into play.
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MICE Space Essentials
June 2007
Standards support proper design and installation Electrical contractors have been cabling or wiring the industrial environment for years. Today, careful and professional connection is imperative because information on the factory floor collected by those networks can be input to the office network system for information reporting. The industrial cabling standard being developed by the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) is meant to give support for a proper design and installation that enables expected network performance. The standard, TIA-1005 for Industrial Cabling, could be ready in late 2007.
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Cabling management and innovation can increase your income
May 2007
Competitive Cabling
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Get the Low Down
April 2007
Low-voltage preventive and value-added maintenance: Traditionally, maintenance work has been preventive—it saves users/customers money by avoiding downtime due to failures; the act of keeping a company’s systems and equipment up and running drives a preventive maintenance program. What follows are some examples of how preventive maintenance applies to certain equipment.
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Branching Out
February 2007
Looking into other maintenance work: For the contractor, there has always been a market for telephony-related maintenance work—moves, adds and changes; looking closer, I have found notably more types of functions/services customers use that require maintenance. The contractor may want to consider them and see if they fit into his/her business model. The type of maintenance work on the uninterruptible power supply (UPS) batteries depends on the types of batteries installed. Flooded-cell batteries (the electrolyte is visible through the glass container) deliver higher performance for a greater length of time (some last 10 years), but they have higher initial costs and advanced maintenance requirements. Valve-regulated batteries—often known as sealed or maintenance-free batteries—have lower upfront costs and require less maintenance than the flooded-cell batteries. However, they also have higher internal resistance and a shorter life (average life is seven years).
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Whole Building Automation's Three Environments
February 2007
Building automation thrives in three environments, which include residential, commercial and industrial; these environments overlap when it comes to automation functions and contractor skills, but the training, and even the types of automation that are installed, are particular to each industry.
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Selling the Source
November 2006
Solar power for the residential market Using solar energy to complement or replace a home’s power supply is expensive and requires difficult financial and technical decisions on the part of the electrical contractor and the customer. Because of the high cost of semiconducting materials, the initial expenditure of installing a solar energy system is its main disadvantage. It can take eight to 10 years to get a return on a person’s initial investment, and not everyone considers this when they are opting for an alternative energy solution. There are a few facts that can help you decide whether you want to include this service along with what you already provide.
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Survey Says!
October 2006
The security and communications boom is upon us Background
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15 Opportunities for Industrial Maintenance
September 2006
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Wired for Business
September 2006
Wire and cable management is part business management BUSINESS MANAGEMENT INVOLVES DIRECTION and manipulation of the company’s resources—including human, financial, material or intellectual properties. A company’s wiring and cabling can be considered as material items that can—and should—be managed, because these are resources that can be deployed and accounted for efficiently, while at the same time improving the company’s market position. Knowing how much cabling is in a building, where it travels and what it connects to does two things for building owners or tenants: it saves time and money when troubleshooting user problems, and it contributes to the asset management program of the company (see Figure 1).
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Distributed Generation and Solar Energy
August 2006
Distributed generation allows for the use of small-scale power generation technologies located nearby the load being served. It can be applied in many different forms. There are various methods by which customers can generate their own electricity, with or without the backup grid.
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Safety Consciousness
May 2006
When you have employees, there are definite benefits to focusing on safety in your company’s culture. If safety measures are defined and followed, employees feel more secure and are more productive. If your company receives few or no complaints, you have a smoother operating company with less aggravation and financial burden. Customers want you to handle their contracting work because you are supplying safety-savvy workers who can create a stable working environment. Under the umbrella of safety-consciousness comes a wide range of subjects, such as disaster preparedness, emergency response and evacuation. How do you know where to start? Here is a logical guide to defining what safety is, what it encompasses, how a company can make its environment safe for its employees and contractors, and in what forms it comes in.
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An Invisible Cord
April 2006
Wireless Local area networks (WLANs) are relatively new, and they are a great help to the employees in all building sizes. WLAN users can communicate wirelessly with access points connected to the wired network, as long as they stay within range of that access point at all times. In addition to the issue with range, other objections include slower speed, possible signal interference, interoperability and conflict between quality of service versus number of users. Help with WLAN cabling
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Understanding SipX
April 2006
First came the public switched telephone network (PSTN), then signaling system 7 (SS7), followed by session initiation protocol (SIP) and now SIP for the private branch exchange (sipX). One built on the other. This article covers what they are, so you can see what they mean to you when dealing with a customer who leases or owns a private branch exchange (PBX) or is considering a new PBX. Voice communications were first, and that led to communications for voice and data and Internet access. PSTN
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Climbing the Contractor Technology Ladder
March 2006
Many technologies changed or developed in 2005 and will continue to develop through 2006. A company’s infrastructure, software, security and communication methods depend on a professionally installed and managed bottom layer of the contractor technology ladder (CTL). The CTL is an illustrated way of dividing the industry into areas of opportunity. Those point to business opportunities and “to expand or not” decisions. When a contractor works at the base of this ladder, he is setting all other processes in motion just by designing and installing a fully operational network while enabling the other rungs to perform successfully.
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A Bright Future? BPL Today
February 2006
According to what I hear, broadband over power lines (BPL) is either a winning or losing technology. It started as a winner because it was positioned as a cheaper alternative to provide high-speed, broadband Internet access to homes and businesses by using the existing power grid infrastructure. But critics have a problem with this. For starters, it may not necessarily be economically viable (or cheaper) because of the cost of the technology of “transformer bypassing.” And, the interference from the power lines could inhibit other radio frequency (RF) communications.
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Designing for Building Integration
November 2005
Interest in integrated building systems (IBS) is stronger than ever. These systems not only improve the overall performance of a facility, but the performance of the workers as well. Building owners want an effective facility that operates efficiently, while attracting and retaining occupants through its amenities and benefits. This type of integration (effective) is not just tying subsystems together, but making them functional. When executed properly, it reflects on the bottom line of financial reports by reducing the initial and life cycle cost of a building.
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Power House
November 2005
Distributed generation (DG) is the process of generating electricity at or near the point of use. Examples include solar energy and wind-powered systems as well as natural gas fueled technologies. It involves small amounts of generation located on a utility's distribution system (could be the house or business building) for the purpose of meeting local (substation level) peak loads and displacing the need to build additional (or upgrade) local distribution lines. It encompasses on-site generation, self-generation, cogeneration and any small-scale power generation that is not provided by a central power plant.
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The ITS-Trained Worker
October 2005
How important are information transport systems skills for the data-communications contractor? Being a professional data-communications (or low-voltage) contractor includes many components. Some refer to the field as information transport systems (ITS), because the skills include basic installation and testing of cables, planning and managing projects, and a working knowledge of current technology.
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Contract Maintenance
August 2005
For electrical contractors, maintenance means more than sweeping the warehouse floor. Service work is becoming an increasingly important and lucrative part of their business. Call it what you will-contract maintenance work, sustaining work, ongoing service work or outsourcing-it is when company uses an outside contractor to do work on their building, often to replace a once-permanent maintenance staff and often as a cost-cutting measure. This contractual agreement is usually a combination of emergency service and routine maintenance. Of course, when a new batch of customers looks to a specific contractor for its expertise and support, it enhances the contractor's reputation and business, which is where contracted employees can be useful. A company sometimes hires contractors for their particular expertise, which helps the company complete a project and allows company workers to focus on what they do best.
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The Glitches Behind the Service
July 2005
The debate Between wireless and wired networks continues, but the dialogue is changing. Though wireless has been an overly hyped technology, it is a significant service option to both consumers and businesses. While the technology may not be ready to take over wired networks due to spotty performance, security and interference shortcomings, it seems industry groups are working on the drawbacks. Let's see where they stand.
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VoIP for the Home or Home Office
June 2005
It has been predicted that the voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) market is in the early stages of dramatic growth, but VoIP needs a compelling reason for use if its proponents expect the technology to have a lasting effect. For the home, the major advantage appears to be reduced phone cost. VoIP is a set of Internet standards that allows the user's voice to be converted into small packets of digital data that can be sent over computer networks.
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Integrated Building Systems (IBS) for the Residence
April 2005
The term “IBS” conceptually combines the installation and maintenance of all electrical and electronic systems, which includes telecommunications, life safety, security access control and local area networks (LANs). In this field, there would be direct responsibility for the installation and functioning of interrelated power, communications and control subsystems and improved compliance with NEC safety requirements for grounding and fire stopping. This concept has now grown into five (versus one or two) new divisions as described in the MasterFormat 2004. The divisions are 25 Integrated Automation, 26 Electrical, 27 Communications, 28 Electronic Safety & Security and 48 Electrical Power Generation. Approaches to IBS seem to come from three points of view: residential, federal/state and the commercial building industry. Read on for differences among these points of view and for what services/technologies make up residential IBS.
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Straight Talk About 'Trusted Computing' (TC)
March 2005
“Trusted computing” (TC) is another modern commercial computer tool. Just what does that mean? The dictionary presented definitions such as “have faith in,” “rely on,” “have confidence in” and “count on.” The concept and need for “trusted” computing started with our own federal government. In 1985, the Department of Defense issued, “Trusted Computer System Evaluation Criteria,” which provided technical hardware/firmware/software security criteria and associated technical evaluation methodologies in support of the overall ADP (automated data processing) system security policy. They addressed their “trusted computer system” and outlined what security features manufacturers needed to build into their new and planned commercial products that would satisfy their trust requirements for sensitive applications.
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Telecom Deja Vu
December 2004
Yes, we've seen it before-at least the architecture. The Wireless Mesh Network looks a lot like the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). Voice and data are converging and can be sent over wireless options. Some wireless is “fixed” and some is “untethered.” The WMN, which is an often-mentioned topology, is similar to the PSTN, which has existed for many, many years. Check out “wireless mesh” with an Internet search and check out the hardware you might want to make available to customers, just as you would hardware that makes up the PSTN.
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Is an Augmented Cat 6 Cabling Package Coming?
October 2004
This package is coming—maybe not this holiday season, but probably after the next one. It may be broken up into three smaller packages, but here is a look at what is going to be included:
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Data Center Design Recommendations
August 2004
Think ‘tiers’ for a standards-compliant data center
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New Technologies Boost Data Center Operations
June 2004
Speeding up the gigabit ethernet
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Important Progress for LAN Performance Standards
April 2004
The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) may only hold three meetings a year, but it does get plenty of significant work done. Some say the results (which are tested and retested) are slow and “behind the times,” but it’s easy to forget that what comes out of the TIA are standards written to ensure minimal performance. People need to meet these standards when designing or installing products. Many techniques or products go much further, but at least they need to meet these minimal standards.
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Don’t Gamble with Abandoned Cable
January 2004
There’s a problem that is either right in front of us or lurking around the corner.
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TIA and You
November 2003
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TIA Notes
September 2003
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Design and Documentation
August 2003
What is documentation and why is it important? We hear about “documenting” a network, but we don’t often listen. It seems like too much work for too little or no payback. But that way of thinking is wrong.
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Help Is On the Way
May 2003
Look for a new fiber test bulletin (not a standard) from the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA ) in 2003. We all know fiber is looked at as more difficult to work with, so maybe that is why a new guidance bulletin is coming out that better describes fiber testing in the field.
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'Standards Compliant' in the Residence
April 2003
Moving toward standardization
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Checks and Balances
March 2003
If you’re involved with security systems (procurement, design or installation), this article looks at what market segments they may fall in and where you can go to learn more about the “standards” that apply to a product or its installation.